If you don’t live in Melbourne — or don’t require accreditation — you may elect to complete the Beginners Course online, in conjunction with a retreat or mini-retreat.

2. Ideally, you will have two or more years meditation experience.

Please note. These requirements apply to everyone, regardless of your previous experience. There are NO EXCEPTIONS.

Please do not email asking for special consideration. You can read the response you will receive below.

Why is the Meditation & Mindfulness For Beginners Course a compulsory prerequisite?

You might be wondering why we ask you to complete a ‘Beginners’ Course, especially if you have been meditating for years and have completed other meditation courses.

You might feel that you have the basics covered and would be wasting your time and money relearning the foundations.

We understand these concerns. Almost all our prospective teacher training students have them.

Reason 1: Accreditation

The Meditation Association of Australia requires that accredited Teacher Training courses involve a minimum number of contact hours. Your participation in the Meditation & Mindfulness for Beginners Course ensures that you meet these requirements.

Reason 2: Foundational Training

Most Meditation Teacher Training courses do not focus exclusively on teaching you how to teach. Instead, significant time is spent introducing you to various types of meditation.

Our Teacher Training Course, however, is all about teaching you how to teach meditation, not on teaching you how to meditate.

Therefore, we need to be able to assume that you already know how to meditate, are familiar with a broad range of approaches and techniques, and understand the concepts, principles and techniques that we introduce on the Beginners Course.

When we first ran our Meditation Teacher Training course we did NOT require participants to complete our Beginners Course beforehand. Consequently, we had to spend a lot of time reviewing material from the Beginners Course and bringing people up to speed. This was unfair on participants who had completed the Beginners Course and meant that we lost a lot of time focusing on revision rather than on material pertinent to teaching.

We know from experience, that students with decades of experience are often unfamiliar with the principles and approaches we share. They frequently say (but only in hindsight) how valuable the Beginners Course was, both in consolidating previous learning but also in exposing them to new techniques and new ways of understanding and thinking about meditation.

I would argue that unless you have at least ten years of meditation experience, and exposure to five or more different traditions, then you probably have plenty to learn. I’ve also noticed that the students with the best understanding of meditation are also the ones who are willing, without hesitation, to review the basics.

Reason 3: Our Approach is Unique

Every meditation course is unique in its own way. Ours, however, draws upon concepts from some unusually innovative teachers and traditions. You’ll be introduced to ideas and material that you are unlikely to find elsewhere.

We’ve spent a couple of decades refining and experimenting in order to present meditation in an unusually clear, accessible style that suits the needs and temperaments of the contemporary world — and we continue to experiment and evolve.

Our course has obvious similarities with other meditation and mindfulness courses (e.g. MBSR) but it also has some very significant differences. If you do decide to enrol, be prepared to have all your assumptions about meditation and mindfulness questioned.

Every teacher (or school) presents meditation in their own way, using their own terms, concepts and metaphors. Completing a course elsewhere does not guarantee that you will understand or be familiar with what we teach.

Reason 4: Purpose of Participation

Completing the Beginners Course allows you to participate from the perspective of a Teacher Trainee. It allows you to consider what the teacher is doing, rather than just what’s in it for you.

Summary

You must complete our Meditation & Mindfulness Course for Beginners in order to participate in the Teacher Training course. There are NO EXCEPTIONS, regardless of previous experience. However, if you live outside Melbourne or do not require accreditation, you may elect to complete the Beginners Course online.

Note: It is possible to complete the Beginners and Teacher Training Courses concurrently. You do not have to have finished the Beginners Course to commence the Teacher Training Course.

I achieved so much more knowledge than I thought possible to learn about meditation and self. It [the online course] was so detailed — and offered in a way that made sense and was easy to understand.

Edward C.

I am really enjoying the Beginners course and it has already taught me far more than I expected.